As it happened: Amazon Kindle Fire event

Amazon has this evening at an event in Santa Monica, California, offered a first look at new versions of its Kindle Fire tablet. You could follow the Kindle Fire event live with our LiveBlog. Here's how it went down.

How we followed Amazon's press event live

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We expect the second-generation Amazon Kindle Fire to launch this evening. Follow it live right here

Amazon has this evening at an event in Santa Monica, California, offered a first look at new versions of its Kindle Fire tablet. You could follow the Kindle Fire event live with our LiveBlog. Here's how it went down. Just click the box below to see how things happened.

Amazon's original Kindle Fire never made it to the UK, but proved to be a huge success in the US. It is inexpensive, pocket sized, and offers a direct window into Amazon's unsurpassed library of books, movies, music and TV shows.

The press is lining up to speculated about the launch of the second generation Kindle Fire, and we know that there will be a Kindle Fire of some description on sale in the UK before Christmas. See: Amazon Kindle Fire coming to the UK.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon will announce an ad-supported Kindle Fire that "would display an ad after the user 'wakes the gadget." Such a device would presumably be cheaper than an ad-free version, similar to how last year Amazon positioned its inexpensive Kindle with Special Offers for $114 instead of $139 for the standard version.

CNET reports that Amazon will take the wraps off two new 7-inch Kindle Fire models, according to "a person who has seen the products." This individual says the company will announce a brand new Kindle Fire as well as a slightly improved version of the original. The rumour follows up on Amazon's announcement earlier this week that the original Kindle Fire was sold out.

"While rumours that Amazon was working on a larger iPad-sized version of its tablet may still be true, the latest word is such a device won't show up at Tuesday's news event.Amazon claims the Kindle Fire has captured 22 percent of U.S. tablet sales, numbering in the "millions."

Kindle Fire 2 launch: live blog

The delay in moving the Kindle Fire outside the US is thought to be due to the licensing issues involved in selling media in international markets. It's possible that Amazon is also waiting to launch the second-generation product into international markets. This is they way Amazon previously dealt with the roll out of its Kindle eReaders devices.

Rumours have been flying that Amazon may add a 10in Kindle Fire to its range, as well as a new 7-inch device. Both are expected to improve on the Kindle Fire's previously criticised build quality, and to be slimmer devices. We expect the 10in Kindle Fire to sport greater connectivity options, including microUSB and HDMI-out ports. It's also expected to have a front-facing camera. Expect the new 7-inch Kindle Fire to have a 1200 x 800 screen.

The Amazon Kindle Fire is a basic 7in tablet PC based in part on Google's Android operating system. Amazon sells the device in the US for $199 as a means to access locked-down digital ebooks that the online retailer licenses to its readers.